470 



LUTHERANS. 



boarders; 3 caste girls' schools, with 101 pu- 

 pils ; and 29 ordinary mission-schools, with 429 

 pupils. The working-force of the mission em- 

 braced 5 ordained ministers, 2 native pastors, 

 3 chatechists, 29 itinerant teachers, 4 colpor- 

 teurs, and 2 women missionaries. The ex- 

 penses of the mission for the last two years had 

 been $20,847.16. The number of baptisms 

 sinoe the mission was begun, 35 years before, 

 had been 4,084, and the number of present can- 

 didates for baptism was 320. One hundred 

 and three backsliders were reported. The Af- 

 rican Mission, at Muhlenherg, was in good con- 

 dition. Sixty children were registered as un- 

 der its care. The expenditures of the mission 

 had been $15,831 nearly double what had been 

 estimated. 



Home Missions. The total receipts of the 

 Board from 21 synods, and from bequests and 

 other sources, had beeu $21,052. The present 

 number of missions was 40, embracing 54 con- 

 gregations with 3,363 members, 45 Sunday- 

 schools with 4,677 scholars, 37 churches, and 

 9 parsonages. Forty-six missions had been 

 under care during the two years, of which 3 had 

 become self-sustaining, 2 had been abandoned 

 by the missionaries, and 1 had declined further 

 aid. These missions were distributed in the 

 States as follows: Kansas 6, Missouri 2, Illi- 

 nois 3, "West Virginia 8, Pennsylvania 8, 

 Ohio 6, New York 4, Iowa 6, Michigan, Ken- 

 tucky, Maine, New Jersey, District of Colum- 

 bia, and Nebraska each 1, and Massachusetts 2. 

 The missions had contributed for pastors' sal- 

 aries, church property, and the various funds 

 of the Church, a total sum of $74,699.58. Twen- 

 ty-seven applications for aid had been received, 

 ten from old congregations, 7 from Swedish 

 congregations, and 1 from a German congre- 

 gation, asking for more than $5,000. 



Church Extension. The receipts of the 

 Board for the two years had been $17,680, and 

 its expenditures during the same time, $17,- 

 675. The total amount of its assets, consisting 

 of notes due, was $9,940. Loans to the amount 

 of $7,575 had been made, and gifts and be- 

 quests of $10,685 had been received since the 

 last meeting of the General Synod. Thirteen 

 applications for aid had been received, which 

 could not be granted on account of the lack of 

 funds. The Board was in debt to the amount 

 of $14,200, and its report contained an esti- 

 mate that it would need about $30,000 during 

 the next two years. Besides the amounts 

 stated in the report of the Board, the reports 

 of the district synods showed that $6,376 had 

 been contributed by them in one year to the 

 work of church extension. 



Publication Society The assets of the Soci- 

 ety were estimated to amount to $45,162, and 

 the liabilities to $15,938. The sales of mer- 

 chandise for two years hacTbeen $51,712, and 

 the gifts to the Society during the same period 

 amounted to $3,712. Of the four journals, and 

 lesser papers for Sunday-schools, issued periodi- 

 cally by the Society, the Lutheran Sunday - 



School Herald, now in its 18th year, had a 

 circulation of 33,000, and the Augsburg Teach- 

 er, in its 3d' year, had a circulation of 5,500 

 copies. 



Pastors' Fund. The amount of the Pastors' 

 Fund was only a little over $6,000, the inter- 

 est of which was disbursed among some needy 

 superannuated ministers. 



The committee on Sunday-schools reported 

 no statistical tables, but stated that the schools 

 were generally growing in numbers, intelli- 

 gence, and efficiency. Three general conven- 

 tions had been held, with good results. At the 

 last general convention, held at Wooster, O., 

 it was resolved to meet every alternate year, 

 and to ask the synods to encourage synodical 

 conventions in the intermediate years. It was 

 arranged that the general conventions be held 

 in the years between the meetings of the Gen- 

 eral Synod. 



The committee on ecclesiastical correspond- 

 ence reported that they had received commu- 

 nications from the Southern General Synod, 

 from which it appeared that that body had 

 commissioned the Rev. Dr. S. A. Repass as a 

 delegate with fraternal greetings to the Gen- 

 eral Synod, on the condition that any existing 

 resolutions of the latter body " compromising 

 the Christian character of the ministers and 

 churches represented by this General Synod 

 (South) be rescinded." Dr. Repass was not 

 present at the General Synod, but was await- 

 ing its action on the subject. The committee, 

 having given the subject careful attention, 

 presented the following report upon it : 



The only resolution of any of our General Synods, 

 known to your committee, which would be affected 

 by the request of the General Synod, South, is found 

 on page 31 of minutes of pur convention at Lancas- 

 ter, in 1862. In the deliberate judgment of your 

 committee the language of this resolution does not, 

 either by fair or forced interpretation, compromise 

 the Christian character of our Southern ministers 

 and churches, and, therefore, the way to the com- 

 pletion of this friendly relation contemplated hy 

 the General Synod, South, is rendered not only pos- 

 sible but highly desirable. We offer the following : 



Whereas, In the judgment of this General Synod, 

 the action of former General Synods was not intend- 

 ed to compromise the Christian character of the min- 

 isters or churches of the general Church, South, and 

 is not so interpreted by us ; and 



Whtreas, If there be anything found therein that 

 can rightfully be so construed (i. e 1 ., as compromis- 

 ing, etc.), we hereby place upon record the belief 

 that such is not the sentiment of the body : therefore, 



Resolved, That the duly commissioned delegate 

 from the General Synod, South, be officially informed 

 of the action, and be cordially invited to consum- 

 mate the object of his appointment, by presenting 

 bis credentials in person. 



Resolved, That the officers of this General Synod 

 be and they are hereby authorized to appoint a del- 

 egate to return our most cordial fraternal greetings 

 to the Southern General Synod, should the way for 

 such appointment be opened by the acceptation of 

 this overture. 



At the last meetings of the Hartwick and 

 Franckean Synods, New York, both of which 

 are connected with the General Synod, com- 

 mittees were appointed by each body to pre- 



